My brother Julio B. Scaramastro.

On his website, bro. Genusa makes a point that bro. Julio and I worked together on this booklet, we did not end up in fellowship together.  While we loved each other to the end, this is true.  When bro. Julio died, he was in the Maranatha fellowship.  Bro. Genusa makes the point that bro. Julio attacked "the doctrine of fellowship."  This is not true.  Bro. Julio and I never disagreed on fellowship.  We disagreed on extending the principles of the truth to include things today, which were never included in the past.

Bro. Julio came to believe that certain additional things must be included in fellowship.  Probably most importantly, he came to believe that you must understand the doctrine of fellowship as Berean Christadelphians believe it, prior to baptism.  This was a change in the position of bro. Julio.  When we discussed this teaching before he joined with us, bro. Julio agreed with me that the doctrine of fellowship that must be understood prior to baptism was that we must walk with those who are walking in light, and we must not walk with those who are walking in error. 

It is clear that men, such as both bre. Thomas and Roberts, will change their definitions on all these terms (such as what is walking together, what is light, what is darkness) as they move through their life.  A person does not need to be baptized every time they change their definitions of these terms.   Therefore, if a person understood the truth at their baptism in Central, and now came to realize that they could no longer fellowship with these brethren, there was no need for rebaptism.  By separating from the world, they exhibited that they understood fellowship, but simply did not understand how far the principles of withdrawal must be taken.

Bro. Julio was baptized when he joined the Bereans and I called him the instant I found out, to question him on this very point.  He told me he was not baptized over the doctrine of fellowship, but because he had been only ten years old at his baptism, he was no longer comfortable as to what he understood at that time.

Over time, bro. Julio became more entrenched in the idea that you have to understand the full doctrine of fellowship for a baptism to be valid.  I pointed out to him that bro. Thomas clearly did not have a sound understand of fellowship at his baptism, as he continued to fellowship the Campbellites, Baptists, and other reformers till at least 1851.  Bro. Julio then invented the idea that bro. Thomas was baptized again, though it was certainly not recorded, and in fact denied by his daughter.  If that were true, it would be a terrible testimony of bro. Thomas that he came to understand a truth that he did not share with the hundreds of brethren who would have been in the same condition as himself.

Because the Bereans would not agree with bro. Julio on this, he separated from us.  Note that this is not a change in the doctrine of fellowship, but rather, what should be done according to the doctrine of fellowship.  Bro. Julio and I both agree we should withdraw from error (elsewhere and anywhere, as bro. Roberts said.)  Bro. Julio redefined his definition of what error was, could not convince the Bereans to change their position, and then he withdrew.

Bro. Genusa treats this matter as if it is some unusual thing.  It actually is just a part of the sadness we routinely discover with a life in the Truth.  Some men, like bro. Genusa, wish to convince us to ignore responsibilities in the truth that Jesus required.  Some brethren, like bro. Julio,  wish to add responsibilities that Jesus never set forth.  We, sadly, can't walk with either.

The Berean Christadelphians meet on the original Christadelphian position, as defined in the BASF, the Commandments of Christ, and the Doctrines to be Rejected.  Questions related to how these documents have always been understood and implemented are defined by the Berean Restatement, and the Common Constitution of Christadelphian Ecclesias.  Those brethren who cannot accept these things, or who wish to add to these things, will not be happy with us.